20th October 2002

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Kilkeel woman Cliona Cotter, who is studying at the University of Ulster, has been honoured as one of the top undergraduate mathematicians in Ireland.

She was one of nine undergraduates to receive an inaugural Hamilton Prize in Mathematics from the Royal Irish Academy. She was chosen after coming top in her penultimate year of study at the University of Ulster.

Cliona received a cheque for €1,000 at the award ceremony in Dublin. She was presented with her award by Nobel Prize winning American physicist Professor Murray Gell-Mann.

The former straight “A” pupil of St Louis’ Grammar School is currently working her placement year with Covance CRU Ltd in Leeds as a junior statistician, before returning to the University to complete her BSc Honours degree in Mathematics, Statistics and Computing.

Cliona has a wide range of extracurricular activities including camogie, netball, music and Irish culture.

Professor Kenneth Houston, of the School of Computing and Mathematics at UU, said: “She chose to study at UU because this course covers a wide range of applications of mathematics, statistics and computing and actively develops personal transferable skills in students”.

The Hamilton Prizes are one of a series of events organised by the Royal Irish Academy to commemorate William Rowan Hamilton, Ireland’s most eminent mathematician of the 20th Century. He discovered quaternions in 1843.

For further information, please contact:

Press Office Department of Communication and Development
Telephone: 028 9036 6178
Email: pressoffice@ulster.ac.uk